Ringleader

Aaron "Little Man" Montague lived fast, played hard and died young. Montague, 26 - suspected of holding the Mantua-Mill Creek area in a vice-like grip of drugs, violence and fear - was killed Monday night when he crashed his car on rain-slicked Germantown Avenue during a desperate, high-speed flight from a team of drug enforcement agents, officials said. Montague was pronounced dead at the scene after his 1988 5.0-liter Mustang slammed into a parked panel truck shortly before 11 p.m. near Pike Street, said Bill Davol, spokesman for the district attorney's office.

Four men were placed on probation and fined a total of $17,500 yesterday for running an illegal football pool out of bars and supermarkets in Medford, Medford Lakes, Absecon and Somers Point over a nine-year period. The ringleader, Carl J. Christian, 56, a truck driver who resides in King of Prussia, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Donald P. Gaydos to three years' probation and fined $10,000. Christian, who has no prior record and who promised to never break the law again, was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.

A 23-year-old Upland man who was one of the ringleaders of a group that committed 14 holdups at gas stations in suburban communities last year was sentenced yesterday in Delaware County Court to 12 to 24 years in state prison. Edward Laubsch pleaded guilty to 14 counts of robbery as part of a plea agreement that called for his testimony at trial if necessary, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Silvestro said. The four codefendants have all pleaded guilty. Lawrence Bowman, 24, of Brookhaven, the gunman in some of the holdups, pleaded guilty Tuesday to 14 counts of robbery, Silvestro said.

Suddenly last summer, a rapacious band of armed robbers swept through the Northeast, holding up and terrorizing bar owners and patrons in at least six heists. The men would burst in with guns, including the shotgun wielded by the leader, slug patrons and even take a few shots at them, clean out the cash register and the patrons' pockets and run out. Yesterday, the shotgun-brandishing boss was convicted by a Common Pleas Court jury of robbery and aggravated assault charges and charges of trying to kill two police officers while fleeing one of the jobs.

A 28-year-old Mount Laurel man has pleaded guilty to leading a Burlington County drug gang that annually produced and sold more than $8 million in crack cocaine. Lynch Hunt, of East Daisy Lane, faces at least 10 years in prison for his role as the ringleader. He was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine and more than 500 grams of cocaine. Hunt pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Trenton. Under the deal, he forfeited more than $24,000 seized from personal and business bank accounts, along with two cars.

People who take late-night strolls in Center City to revel in the summer weather - beware. A band of thugs has robbed couples or residents walking alone six times since Sunday, Capt. Thomas Quinn of Central Detectives said yesterday. Even that wasn't enough for the gang, which is also suspected of sexually assaulting another victim early Sunday. The attacks occurred between 9:30 p.m. and the early- morning hours in Old City and Society Hill. In most instances, the victims' have been robbed.

Back to reality, Philly The convention over, Philly can revert to its usual negativity. Just read Tuesday's (Aug. 8) newspapers: Sixers GM Billy King admits the bad blood is not all Allen Iverson's fault, yet doesn't elaborate who else is at fault and why. District Attorney Lynne Abraham announces that alleged carjacker Thomas Jones had no gun and did not shoot a policeman (the officer was shot by another), yet says nothing about why an unarmed African-American male had to be shot five times and beaten by a gang of policemen.

Two more teenagers accused of plotting shootings at Winslow Township High School pleaded guilty yesterday, including the 15-year-old whom prosecutors described as the ringleader. The teens' plan was to start a food fight to cause a distraction during a fourth-period lunch; then the ringleader would execute students and teachers from a "hit list" before continuing the rampage off-campus, prosecutors said. That teen, Edwin DeLeon of Winslow, agreed to waive his case to adult court, then pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a firearm.

The day was winding down at Daroff Elementary School, and the classroom was mostly empty when six boys attacked a fourth-grade girl last month as she emerged from a coat closet. The 10-year-old ringleader pushed her to the floor. Two boys held her down by her arms while the ringleader straddled her. Two other boys kicked and hit her while the sixth pulled her face toward his groin, the 9-year-old girl said. The ringleader and two of the boys who are 10 were later arrested and face several charges in juvenile court, including simple, aggravated and indecent assault.

'Maestro, what's going on?" someone asks Walter Garber - looking a lot like Denzel Washington as he casts a puzzled gaze at the giant computerized board in New York's Rail Center headquarters, its lights indicating a Lexington Avenue train stopped on the tracks. What's going on? Try a remake of The Taking of Pelham 123, the 1974 hostage drama in which a band of bad guys with funny mustaches take control of a subway car, terrorizing its passengers and giving the city a mere 60 minutes to deliver a ransom.

A MONTH out from what could be a very important primary, most of you are following the Phillies, Sixers and Flyers a lot closer than the city election. (If you are reading this in the suburbs, you may tear out this page and add it to the mulch pile while letting out the cat.) Nothing usually surprises me about Philadelphia politics, but this cycle some politicians have opened a new can of crazy. Usually, it's the Democrats, God's Unchosen People, who run the circus because Philadelphia is a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Democratic Party®.

After being described by a prosecutor as a "leech" who is "sociopathic," "greedy, unrepentant, and pathologically indifferent" to other humans, professional thief Scott A. Hornick was given the really bad news: He'll likely spend most of the rest of his life in prison. Hornick, 38, was sentenced Monday to 27 years for running a burglary ring from 2001 to 2007 while he was also wanted for escaping from a New Jersey jail. He robbed at least 150 businesses in 13 states. "It's about time you are off the streets for a good long time," said U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III. He told Hornick, who lived in Raritan, N.J., that his criminal history was "off the charts.

After being described by a prosecutor as a "leech" who is "sociopathic," "greedy, unrepentant, and pathologically indifferent" to other humans, professional thief Scott A. Hornick was given the really bad news: He'll likely spend most of the rest of his life in prison. Hornick, 38, was sentenced Monday to 27 years for running a burglary ring from 2001 to 2007 while he was also wanted for escaping from a New Jersey jail. He robbed at least 150 businesses in 13 states. "It's about time you are off the streets for a good long time," said U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III. He told Hornick, who lived in Raritan, N.J., that his criminal history was "off the charts.

Robert Eatman said yesterday that he would have been a poor ringleader for the home-invasion robbery in which Korean businessman Robert Chae was killed last year, countering attempts to blame him. He weighed more than 400 pounds, he said. And he needed a cane to move around, stiffly, after being shot eight times in 2007. After a methodical trudge to the witness stand in a Montgomery County courtroom yesterday, Eatman - down to 310 after a year in jail - named Joseph Page, Amatadi Latham, and Karre Pitts as the attackers.

'Maestro, what's going on?" someone asks Walter Garber - looking a lot like Denzel Washington as he casts a puzzled gaze at the giant computerized board in New York's Rail Center headquarters, its lights indicating a Lexington Avenue train stopped on the tracks. What's going on? Try a remake of The Taking of Pelham 123, the 1974 hostage drama in which a band of bad guys with funny mustaches take control of a subway car, terrorizing its passengers and giving the city a mere 60 minutes to deliver a ransom.

A Holland, Bucks County, man pleaded guilty yesterday to operating a $3 million asylum-fraud ring and laundering the proceeds. During a hearing in federal court, David Lynn, 32, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy, visa asylum fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to launder money. In exchange, Lynn agreed to forfeit about $1.7 million in assets he acquired through the scam and to cooperate with investigators. Prosecutors say he spent the rest. Lynn faces up to 87 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.

The day was winding down at Daroff Elementary School, and the classroom was mostly empty when six boys attacked a fourth-grade girl last month as she emerged from a coat closet. The 10-year-old ringleader pushed her to the floor. Two boys held her down by her arms while the ringleader straddled her. Two other boys kicked and hit her while the sixth pulled her face toward his groin, the 9-year-old girl said. The ringleader and two of the boys who are 10 were later arrested and face several charges in juvenile court, including simple, aggravated and indecent assault.

Two more teenagers accused of plotting shootings at Winslow Township High School pleaded guilty yesterday, including the 15-year-old whom prosecutors described as the ringleader. The teens' plan was to start a food fight to cause a distraction during a fourth-period lunch; then the ringleader would execute students and teachers from a "hit list" before continuing the rampage off-campus, prosecutors said. That teen, Edwin DeLeon of Winslow, agreed to waive his case to adult court, then pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a firearm.

A Camden County man who pleaded guilty last year to operating a credit-card fraud ring in New Jersey and Pennsylvania was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison. Enrico Carpenito, 65, of Clementon, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Legrome D. Davis. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ewald Zittlau said Carpenito was the "number-one defendant" among 21 people who were charged with participation in the $1 million fraud. Two defendants died of drug overdoses after their indictment in June of last year.

A South Jersey man yesterday pleaded guilty to federal charges of running a ring of 19 South Philadelphia-based thieves who stole more than $1 million over an eight-year period from 1996 using credit cards lifted from parked cars at health clubs, gyms and recreation centers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Enrico Carpenito 65, of Cherrywood in Clementon, Camden County, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and credit card fraud, joining the 16 ring members indicted with him in June.